Mapping gene expression in social anxiety reveals the main brain structures involved in this disorder.

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is characterized by emotional and attentional biases as well as distorted negative self-beliefs. According this, we proposed to identify the brain structures and hub genes involved in SAD. An analysis in Pubmed and TRANSFAC was conducted and 72 genes were identified. Using Microarray data, from Allen Human Brain Atlas, it was possible to identify three modules of co-expressed genes from our gene set (R package WGCNA). Higher mean gene expression was found in cortico-medial group, basomedial nucleus, ATZ in amygdala and in head and tail of the caudate nucleus, nucleus accumbens and putamen in striatum. Our enrichment analysis identified the followed hub genes: DRD2, HTR1A, JUN, SP1 and HDAC4. We suggest that SAD is explained by delayed extinction of circuitry for conditioned fear. Caused by reduced activation of the dopaminergic and serotonergic systems,due diminished expectation of reward during social interactions.

Analyses of gait and jump tasks in female obese adolescents.

In spite of the advances in knowledge on the multi-factorial nature of obesity, many questions related to the consequences of the disease continue to be unanswered. Several studies have reported biomechanic and kinematic adaptation and alterations in walking and in tasks of every day life, motivated by the additional load of fat mass in children and adults. The main objective of this study was to understand the effect of obesity in the electromyographic activity of four lower extremity muscles during three speeds of walking and during a countermovement jump (CMJ) in twenty two (9 obese and 13 normal weight) female adolescents aged 13. Although electromyographic differences were not observed between groups for normal, slow and fast speeds, data suggests that the preferred pace of the obese is less efficient than that of the normal weight group. In CMJ task, differences in the after-fall jump phase were observed. More studies are needed to explain if the few differences observed between groups are caused by the bigger amount of fat mass.